chérirvschevrierWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: chérir is a verb, chevrier is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chérir” is a verb and “chevrier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,183
“chérir” frequency rank
#43,839
“chevrier” frequency rank
84022
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chérir chevrier
Definition Aimer tendrement. Pâtre qui mène des chèvres.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chérir and chevrier apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
chérir
8 ch
chevrier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chérir is \ʃe.ʁiʁ\ while chevrier is \ʃə.vʁi.je\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84022, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chérir is recorded at frequency rank #40,183, classified as averb, pronounced \ʃe.ʁiʁ\. chevrier is at rank #43,839, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃə.vʁi.je\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 84022, this pair ranks #13,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chérir vs chevrier

Shared letters: chir. Private to "chérir": é. Private to "chevrier": ev.

"chérir" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "chevrier" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chevriercchevrier · cehvrier · chervier · chevirer · chevreir · chevrierr · chevrire · chevrrier

Frequency comparison

chérir#40,183
chevrier#43,839

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chérir" and "chevrier" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chérir" is a verb and "chevrier" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "chérir" or "chevrier"?
"chérir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,183 in our French list, against #43,839 for "chevrier". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chérir vs chevrier

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “chérir”; for a noun, it's “chevrier”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chérir” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list